[OJFord]

No mould will grow on soaking (i.e. submersed) rice.

[ghostly_s]

Confidently dismissing someone else's firsthand experience, exactly the level of intelligent conversation this site is renown for.

[gsk22]

Yes, much better to blindly believe an anecdote that contradicts known food science.

[moron4hire]

Mold can definitely grow on the surface of liquids. Have you never left a cup of coffee out on a counter for a few days?

[BenjiWiebe]

It can grow on the surface, but won't be able to grow on submerged rice. Bacteria could still ferment the rice though.

[moron4hire]

No, while the visible majority of mold grows on the surface of things, it also sends out tendrils that penetrate through the medium. That's why you shouldn't cut mold off of bread or soft cheeses and eat the visibly "ok" part, you should treat the entire thing as contaminated. Hard cheeses that have only a little bit of mold can be scraped, but anything soft will get explored pretty thoroughly.

[tsol]

Why would you think that? It's water and starch. Everything a growing bacteria needs.

[BenjiWiebe]

Their point is just that the mold will only grow on the surface, not the submerged rice. Mold needs air, too.

[mixmastamyk]

Mold is a fungus.